Top iPhone app of the week: Khan Academy

How's this for a treat – learning for free? Now we bet that has got you interested. Now, how about the luxury of learning via your handheld device? Well, now you can, thanks to the latest new and free iPhone app.

Khan Academy offers users the opportunity to delve deep into various subjects when and where they want, delivering a personalised learning experience that fits into people's busy schedules.

Using "state-of-the-art, adaptive technology", the app guides "students" on their learning journey, identifying strengths and weaknesses along the way so that it can respond in kind.

You can, says the team behind the academy, "learn anything". It is about empowering people to believe that they can do more because anything is possible and follow their own personal interests.

"Spend an afternoon brushing up on statistics," the official blurb outlines on iTunes. "Discover how the Krebs cycle works. Learn about the fundamentals of music notation. Prepare for the upcoming SAT, GMAT, or MCAT. Or, if you’re feeling particularly adventurous, learn how fire stick farming changed the landscape of Australia."

The service has come a long way since it was first launched in 2008. At first, it was primarily based on YouTube, delivering educational videos via the popular website.

Thanks to its strengths, it has grown in popularity, with over 15 million people a month accessing the platform and taking charge of their own learning.

One user of the service, who is quoted on their official website is Kimberly, a primary school teacher based in the north-east of England.

She has said: "When the conventional education system gets on my nerves, I only need to whack on a Khan Academy and my faith in the future of education is restored."